I was checking the comments on my blog today, hoping to get some feedback from my lovely podlisteners, when I came across one that was a bit worrying. Huy Mai very kindly complimented my podcast and informed me that I had made a couple of spelling mistakes on my blog of 'A Haitian art surprise'. I quickly looked up the blog, and realised that I certainly had made a couple of spelling mistakes. "Oh, Anna! How could you?" I said to myself, as I erased and corrected my mistakes. An English teacher making a mistake in English spelling? How is that possible? Shame on me. I made my mind up that I would not allow this to happen again, and that I will triple-check my work in the future. Do you find that you make mistakes when you are tired or in a hurry? I certainly do. It reminds me of a story about my children's school. There was a spelling competition going on, and one of the staff members had put up a message of encouragement on the large notice board that is next to the main road. It told the date of the spelling competition, a few details, and then it said, "We know that you'll do grat," instead of 'great'. Someone driving by noticed the spelling mistake and took a picture of it on her iPhone, and then sent it in to a television station. Gosh, bad news travels fast! I do catch myself, every now and then, when I'm writing a podcast, wondering if I should put the American or English spelling of a word, as many are different. For example, today I have used the words 'realised' and 'surprised', both spelt the English way. In the U.S they are spelt with a 'z'. Infact, the word 'spelt' is not used much in the U.S.; it is interchangeable with spelled, though it really is, in this instance, describing the words, not the action of spelling. Here are some further examples:

Grammar notes.

Spelt, dreamt, spoilt, burnt.

1. His name was in the paper, but it was spelt incorrectly.

2. I dreamt that I lived in a world of chocolate.

3. She is so spoilt. Her behavior (our) was so bad that she spoilt (spoiled) the party.

4. The cookies are burnt; we can eat them. Sorry everyone, I burnt (burned) them!

So, in conclusion, though spelling should be correct, some English/ American verbs are interchangeable, so both are correct.